𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒚 | 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝔂'𝓼 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦

SO FAR, CHARLOTTE'S SATURDAY HAD consisted of lying in bed, eating packets of junk food, and watching horror movies. And crying. Lots of crying. But she doesn't think she can produce another tear. She's too sad to cry anymore.  From her position under the blankets, she can hear a knock at her door. Refusing to pause her movie, she yells out, "Yeah?"

"Honey, it's me," her mother answers, opening the door slightly to find a large lump in the bed and the faint sound of screaming. She shakes her head with a sad smile. Horror movies have always been one of her daughter's coping mechanisms. Obviously she strongly disapproves, you know, due to the graphic violence and gore. "Allison's here to see you."

Charlotte's head pops up from underneath the covers and she fumbles to find the pause button on the keyboard of her laptop. This is the longest she and Allison had spent apart. Neither one of them had tried to initiate a conversation after the hostage situation. "Okay," she replies hesitantly.

The door slowly creaks open further and chocolate hair falls in through the crack. Allison's eyes find the girl on the bed and she awkwardly smiles. "Hey, uh, can I come in?"

Charlotte winces as she pushes herself up to sit in her bed, feeling a small burst of pain shoot across her body. "Yeah, of course." Gently closing the door behind her, Allison purposefully tries to avoid eye contact. However, the blonde-haired girl rolls her eyes and pats the mattress next to her. "Oh, come here."

Failing to refrain her smile, Allison lays down next to her best friend. She sighs and plays with the frayed edges of the duvet cover. "I'm sorry," she suddenly says.

"Me too."

Her eyes widen and she turns onto her side to face the girl who is already watching her. "Why?" Allison exclaims. "You haven't done anything!"

Charlotte softly sighs. "Exactly. I haven't done anything. Alli, I've left you during a week where you probably needed me more than ever. I should be the one apologising." Her lips dip into a frown and laces her fingers through her friend's. "But I'm here now."

"No," Allison quickly denies. She swallows and her eyes flick down to Charlotte's t-shirt covering the stitched up bullet wound. "I was the one who went along with Gerard and my dad to the station. If I had know you were going to be there-"

She chuckles. "I was shot long before you guys came." Although that doesn't do much to relieve the guilt etched upon Allison's face. "But for once can we not talk about supernatural stuff? Please?"

As much as she wants to discuss Gerard and Derek, Charlotte is already caught in middle. There are two very clear sides. First, there is Scott who's all 'let's save Jackson and keep Derek alive.' Then there's Allison who seems very much anti 'save Derek.' Charlotte quite likes Derek. She also quite likes Allison. And this is where the problem begins. However, she needs a day without any werewolf drama. Right now, all she wants is her best friend. It also seems that Allison needs her as well, even if she doesn't want to admit it aloud.

"So I've spent the day eating litres of ice-cream and watching movies. Want to join?"

Allison's eyes fill with concern as she fully takes in the physical state of her friend. Her eyes are red and raw, her cheeks flushed, and her hair a mess as she sits in a pair of sweats. "Oh God... What happened to you?" she questions worriedly.

"Erica's leaving," Charlotte whispers. She takes a deep breath, trying to keep herself composed. Allison's frown changes to one of sympathy as she squeezes the blonde's hand. "Her and Boyd, maybe Isaac too. They're leaving Beacon Hills."

"I thought you two were-"

"Not anymore."

Allison sighs. "I'm so sorry."

Charlotte internally curses herself for bringing up her first breakup in front of her best friend who had just lost her mother. Her problem is nowhere near as significant as what Allison is dealing with. They're both going through grief over a loss, but both are on very different scales. She doesn't need to burden Allison any further. "Yeah. Me too." She clears her throat and brings her laptop onto the covers to scroll through her library. "Okay, you have the choices of either... Jennifer's Body, which is definitely not a horror movie by the way, Scream, or Paranormal Activity."

Allison watches how quickly her mood switches. In fact, she had been noticing it happening quite frequently over the past few weeks. She searches her blue eyes and spots the pain hidden throughout. Allison frowns and squeezes her hand again as she decides to follow the change of conversation. "Scream?" she suggests.

Charlotte grins as she clicks on the film. "And this is why I love you." For the next few hours, both girls seem to forget what had occurred over the last few weeks. Their friendship is back to normal, the Kanima doesn't exist, Matt never happened... It's just them, a tub of Ben and Jerry's, and Courtney Cox.

»»———-　　———-««

She had been cleared by the hospital to drive earlier this morning. However, it had taken Charlotte about forty minutes to convince her mother that she really was okay physically to manage a car. Slowly and cautiously, she had made her way over to Scott's house, contemplating the entire drive over whether this is even a good idea in the first place. With just over two hours until the lacrosse game tonight, she takes a deep breath and stops staring at the home. But as she gets out the car, the door hits her stomach and she hisses out in pain. "Son of a motherfucking bitch!"

The front door swings wide open and Charlotte chuckles as she spots Scott racing toward her in a panic. "Hey, Charles! Are you okay? I heard you-"

"Scotty, I'm fine," she interrupts reassuringly. "Just bumped my stitches, it's all good."

"Uh, not that I don't wanna see you, but what are you doing here?" he asks in confusion.

She nods her head toward the house. "Let's go inside."

Swivelling around in circles on Scott's desk chair, Charlotte listens to him drum his fingers on the desk. The boy finally huffs a sigh and looks up to her. "Okay, what is it?" he questions impatiently. "We've been here in silence for five minutes."

"I know," she says with a grin. "Just wanted to annoy you." He rolls his eyes with a smile and gestures for her to begin. "Don't get pissed at me for asking any of this- well, any more annoyed than you already are."

"I won't," he promises.

Charlotte sighs. "When Derek was helping me get out the station that night, after you had left us with Stiles, we heard you talking with Gerard."

Scott's eyes widen in alarm as he becomes flustered. He rubs the back of his neck and stands up to pace around the room. "W-What? What did you hear? How much did you hear?" he presses frantically.

She kisses her teeth. "Well, I can't remember exactly, but something along the lines of 'I've done everything you've asked of'?"

The boy drops down onto his bed and places his head in his hands with a groan of frustration. "Shit!" he exclaims. "You weren't meant to hear that!"

Charlotte snorts and raises her eyebrows at him when he glances to her. "You think?" Scott groans again. "So do you want to explain what you were talking about?"

He grimaces and falls back onto the bed with a heavy sigh. He knows she won't leave until she finds out the truth. "Fine. Yeah, okay."

»»———-　　———-««

Charlotte pulls her coat tighter around her body before opening the door to the boy's locker room, immediately being met with the loud voices of the lacrosse team giving one another pep talks before the game. She scans the room packed with people and locks eyes with Stiles who immediately grins and waves her over. She reciprocates the smile and pats his shoulder. "Hey, dude, you ready for tonight?"

Chewing on his nail, Stiles nods. "Mhm, yeah, absolutely," he mumbles. She raises her eyebrows and he sighs. "No. No, I'm definitely not ready."

She sits down beside him on the bench and looks at him sternly. "You're gonna do great, okay? Plus, Lydia's gonna be there so that's another reason to motivate you."

His eyes widen. "Wait, what? Really? She-"

Suddenly, the loudspeaker crackles to life and cuts his sentence off. Both teens join the rest of the room and watch Coach clear his throat as he speaks into the microphone. "'Good morning,'" he begins dramatically. "'In less than an hour, aircraft from here will be joining others from around the world... and you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind."

"Here we go again," Charlotte mutters, leaning her head atop Stiles' shoulder. He looks just as exasperated as she is.

"'Mankind, that word should have new meaning for all of us today."

Melissa McCall pats Stiles' shoulder and instantly grabs the pairs' attention. "What the hell is he talking about?" she quietly questions.

The boy shrugs and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, he does this every year," he mutters.

The woman raises her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

Charlotte sighs. "Yeah..."

"'We are fighting for our right to live!'" The lacrosse team bursts into cheers.

"Wait... is this?"

Looking over to Melissa and noticing the realisation falling onto her face, Charlotte hums. "The speech from Independence Day," she says. Melissa nods.

"'But as the day the world declared in one voice...'"

"Coach's favourite movie," Stiles informs their best friend's mother.

"'We will not go quietly into the night!'"

"He doesn't know any sports speeches?" Melissa asks.

Charlotte softly sighs. "I don't think he really cares."

"'Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!'" Coach yells enthusiastically. Once more, the whole room cheers, all except for the three standing at the back of the room.

The blonde-haired girl purses her lips and whispers to her best friend, "At least it's over for this year."

Stiles sighs. "Start the twelve month countdown," he mutters back.

"Well spoken, Coach." At the familiar voice, both teens glance to each other in alarm, Melissa staring at him in fear. Charlotte is beginning to feel terrified of Gerard Argent. Terrified and really, really pissed off. "I might have chosen something with a little more historical value, but there's no denying your passion... And while I haven't been here long, there's no denying my pride in having a winning team for this school. I know you'll all be brilliant tonight, even with only one co-captain leading you."

Her eyes widen in surprise and she catches Scott's gaze from his position up near Coach. She furrows her eyebrows at him and mouths, What? But the boy shrugs, seemingly just as confused.

"Now, I'm your principal but I'm also a fan... So don't think I'll be content to watch you merely beat this team." Coach grins. "Get out there and murder them."

A shiver runs down Charlotte's spin at the man's words. There's something inside her that tells her it isn't metaphorical. "You heard the man!" Coach yells. "Asses on the field!"

As the team spreads out with one last cheer, Charlotte spots Jackson heading out the door with Danny. "Stiles?" She nudges the boy and nods her head in the direction of the Kanima. "Jackson's here."

He grimaces. "This isn't going to end well, is it?"

Yeah, it definitely wasn't metaphorical. It seems like if Gerard gets his way tonight, someone's going to die.

After Scott explains to his friends that Gerard is benching him for the game, the three sit on the team bench on the field. Charlotte rubs her hands together, trying to create some sort of warmth. The air that blows out her lips looks like a dragon's breath in the cold. She glances to Stiles as she asks, "Is your dad coming?"

He nods and points to the bleachers off to the side. "Yeah, he's already here."

"Have you guys seen Allison?" Scott questions.

"Nope," Stiles replies. He turns to the blonde as he adds, "You seen Lydia?"

"I know she's coming, just don't know when." Looking out onto the field, Charlotte sighs. "This is gonna end really badly, isn't it?"

Scott raises a brow. "What's your version of 'really badly'?"

"Screaming, blood, dead bodies, maiming, carnage, slaughter, murder..."

The werewolf briefly turns to the team warming up on the field then looks back to her. "Looks like it," he admits.

"Well shit."

"Scott..." Stiles licks his lips. "The other night, seeing Matt hit my dad on the head, you know, while I'm just lying there and I can't even move, and while Charlie was dying... I just.."

Charlotte glimpses down to her stomach and gives Stiles a small smile in understanding. "You want to help." He nods. "Scott, we both want to help. But we don't have super strength, or glowing eyes..."

"We can't."

Scott's eyes flick between them. "Hey, guys, it's okay," he says reassuringly.

Stiles shakes his head. "We're losing, dude."

"Really fucking badly," she adds.

"The hell are you talking about?" The look behind them to see Coach leaning on the bench. "The game hasn't even started," he says incredulously. He shakes his head in disappointment at the girl. "Martin, I expect more from you."

She winces. "Sorry, Coach."

"Forgiven." He points to Stiles. "Now put on your helmet and get out there. You're in for Greenberg."

"Wait, what? What happened to Greenberg?"

Charlotte frowns. "Yeah, what happened to Greenberg? Coach, he was meant to be on with or without Greenberg!"

"You told him?" he asks in frustration. When she nods, Finstock sighs. "What happened to Greenberg? Well, he sucks." He holds his hands up to imitate a scale. "You suck slightly less."

"Coach!" Charlotte exclaims.

Despite having a few days notice, the realisation finally hits Stiles. It's real. "I'm playing? I'm actually playing? On the actual field? With the team?"

The girl giggles. "Yep, now get the fuck out there."

So he grabs his lacrosse stick, his helmet, and jumps up chaotically sprints out onto the field. Scott and Charlotte share a look then burst out into laughter. "Look at him," the former says with a smile.

"He's so happy." She sighs. "I feel like a proud mother. I'm gonna go join the parents. Don't die out there." She pats him on the shoulder and Scott grins at her.

As she walks up the few stairs to reach the row Melissa and Noah are in, she weaves through the spectators and finally reaches her saved seat. The Sheriff glances at her as she sits down beside Melissa and raises his eyebrows. "What the hell is my son doing out on the field?"

Charlotte's lips purse. "Uh, he's playing because he's on the team?"

"He is," Noah mumbles in realisation.

"Sure is."

Melissa nods in amusement. "Mm-hmm."

"He's on the team... He's-he's on the field." The man stands up and pumps his fist. "My son is on the field!"

Charlotte and Melissa share a smile when the surrounding area turns to stare at him. The girl pulls him back down, but the wide smile still remains plastered on his face. "And he's gonna do great," she muses confidently. "But let's not embarrass him anymore." Both adults turn to her with their brows raised. "Yet," she corrects. "Not embarrass him anymore, yet."

Melissa laughs and wraps an arm around her. "That's my girl."

Heels click on the metal floor and all three turn to see Lydia joining them, an awkward smile on her face. Charlotte locks eyes with her and motions to the empty seat next to her. When the adults turn back to watch the field, Lydia closes her eyes briefly before grabbing onto her sister's hand. "I'm so sorry, Lottie. I shouldn't have ignored you."

"All week, Dee," Charlotte speaks quietly. She takes a deep breath, trying to keep her frustration at bay. "You've ignored all my texts and calls... You've given me the cold shoulder at home... What have I done?" she asks softly.

"Nothing!" Lydia swallows and looks down, playing with the ring on her finger. "Nothing. You've done nothing wrong. It's me." She meets her twin's eyes pleadingly. "But can we talk about it later? It's a bit, uh, crowded."

Realising that something probably bigger than the both of them has happened, Charlotte's anger washes away. She smiles at the strawberry blonde and squeezes her hand. "Of course. Now, let's pray that somehow Stiles saves the game tonight."

  »»———-　　———-««

She sighs as she looks up at the scoreboard. Two - zero. Once again, Beacon Hills is losing. "We really suck," Charlotte declares.

Melissa grimaces. "Why isn't Scott playing?" she asks the girls.

"Something about failing too many classes," the blonde replies. She shakes her head. "Academics before sport... Absolutely bullshit if you ask me." Both adults narrow their eyes at her and she waves a hand. " Never mind..." She looks up when the umpire blows his whistle, her eyes squinting as she watches Stiles in his position down near the goal. Lydia grabs onto her hand as the ball flies into his net. "Oh, my God," she whispers. "He's got it. Stiles, run-" A large opposition player tackles the boy straight to the ground.

Melissa winces. "He's probably just warming up."

A few minutes later, the ball lands right in front of Stiles. His eyes light up with excitement and he fumbles to pick it up, however, right as the ball makes it into his net, two opposing players roughly tackle him to the ground.

"Oh, he's just a little nervous," Lydia reassures the three seated with her. "Plenty of time to turn it around."

"Are you kidding me?" Charlotte questions in disbelief. She stands up and cups her hands around her mouth as she yells, "Stiles! Get your ass up and move!" The boy turns to the bleachers at the words and he defeatedly throws his arms up into the air.

Beacon Hills has finally managed to get the ball back down to their half of the field. Melissa clasps Charlotte's hand in anticipation as they watch Stiles Stilinski stare at the ball flying toward him and he shuffles backward in small steps as he prepares to catch it. Melissa's grip loosens when instead of landing in the net, it smacks him in the centre of his helmet. Charlotte groans as the crowd starts to boo and she places her head into her hands, similar to Noah whose are covering his face.

Another whistle and the attention quickly returns to the field. The blonde-haired girl's eyebrows furrow in confusion when she notices another player run onto the field. Lydia leans over and asks, "Who's that?"

As Charlotte's eyes squint to try and find the number and name on the scarlet jersey, she barks a laugh of disbelief. "Holy shit! It's Isaac." She grins at the back of the boy as he takes his position. "He stayed," she whispers. Her heart clenches after she double checks the bleachers and field once more for Boyd and Erica. They're not changing their minds it seems.

Cheering suddenly fill the stands when one of Beacon Hill's players catches the ball and tears off down the field. Although it quickly dies off when Isaac rams into him causing the player to meet the grass.

Charlotte stares at the scene in confusion. "What the fuck is he doing?" she mutters to herself. Another player is substituted on, only for the same thing to happen a few minutes later. For some reason this reminds her of the time Scott went around knocking his own teammates at practise when they were trying to find the new werewolf. Her jaw drops in realisation and she looks around for her best friend, finding him exactly where she had left him. "You brilliant little shit." At her voice, Scott turns around and grins. "Buddy, this is one hell of a way to get on the field."

One by one, the rest of the substitutes on the bench all get brutally knocked down by Isaac. Lydia shakes her head. "Is this supernatural related?" she questions quietly to her sister.

"Scott's been benched, this is his way to get on," Charlotte murmurs. "Gotta make sure Jackson doesn't kill anyone."

Lydia's brows raise as she stares out at the field. "Huh."

"Lahey!" Coach screams as he points at the boy. "Seriously! What the hell is your problem?" With a sly smirk, Isaac throws his arms up as he runs back onto the field.

The Sheriff sighs. "Could this game get any worse?"

The siblings turn to one another, then look at the man. "You really don't want us to answer that," Charlotte retorts. Melissa's eyes widen slightly. But when Isaac himself gets violently tackled, Charlotte's eyes widen in alarm and she quickly stands up to get a better look. Her friend lies on the ground and from what she can see, he isn't moving.

Jackson.

"He's been paralysed," Lydia realises in horror.

Charlotte nods. "I don't think that was part of Scott's plan."

Melissa turns to the girls next to her and subtly nudges her head to the field, lowering her voice in the process. "Something supernatural's happening here, isn't it?"

They both nod. "Yep."

The woman squares her shoulders. "I'm gonna go talk to my son."

After Isaac is safely placed into the ambulance on standby, they watch Bobby Finstock pull Scott to the side and smack a helmet against his chest. The werewolf grabs the outstretched lacrosse stick then quickly goes to converse with Melissa who has just reached him. A few minutes later, he races down the field with the ball in his net. "Okay, so Scott's on now," Charlotte observes, her voice filled with hope. "Something's gotta go right... right?"

Stilinski winces when Scott gets pushed to the ground. "Nope."

"But we have Stiles!" Lydia exclaims reassuringly. "Surely he's warmed up now..."

Charlotte, Lydia, Noah, and Melissa all simultaneously groan when said boy joins Scott on the floor. The blonde turns to her sister with a grimace. "You spoke too soon."

When Scott runs off the field, the Sheriff stands up in disbelief. "Scott, what the hell are you doing?" he yells.

Nodding in agreement, Charlotte follows him. "Get your fucking ass back on the field you fucking idiot!"

Slumping back down into the chair, she turns to the two adults in surprise when they don't yell at her for cursing. Noah slightly smiles. "I'm struggling to restrain myself from doing the same thing," he admits.

And just as she notices the score seven - nine on the board, Charlotte watches Stiles run around. "Come on, dude. You got this," she murmurs. Her eyes widen in surprise when the ball suddenly rolls towards him and stops right in front of his feet. Stiles looks down in front of him, then quickly around to discover, in delight, that all the players are trying to find where the ball had gone. When he scoops it up, Charlotte's jaw drops. "Oh, my God."

Turning around, the boy runs towards the goal only a short distance away from him. He glances back in alarm to see all the players running toward him. Noah sighs and shakes his head. "Oh, crap."

But when Stiles hesitates right in front of the goal, Charlotte jumps up to her feet. "Stiles! Shoot the fucking ball!" she screams.

His head turns to her, then to the players behind him. Stiles launches the ball into the air at the very last second. It lands in the goal. The crowd falls silent. Both twins look to one another, then at the same time they jump up and break into loud cheers alongside the rest of the crowd. Partly still in shock, Charlotte laughs at Stiles' own expression of disbelief and excitement. And from then on Stiles has a newfound confidence in himself as he scores another two goals, placing Beacon Hills in front. The applause and cheers break out louder than before and Charlotte's grin stretches so wide her cheeks begin to burn. Stilinski laughs as he watches his son proudly. As the clock counts down to the final second, the alarm wails across the field, signalling the end of the game.

Then everything goes dark.

With the flood lights off, Charlotte frantically looks around her, making sure her sister is still beside her. Grabbing onto each other's hands, they carefully make their way down the stairs and try to reach open ground, Noah and Melissa following shortly behind them.

"Scott?" the older McCall calls out. "Scott!"

One by one, each light turns back on and illuminates a group of people crowded in the middle of the field. Suddenly, Lydia pulls her sister to an abrupt stop. Charlotte frowns and squints her eyes, and when she realises what's going on, panic hits her. "Holy shit," she whispers.

"Jackson!" Lydia calls out in terror. "Jackson! Jackson, what's happening?

Allowing her twin to drag her along, both siblings quickly race over to the group just as Melissa crouches down to the player on the ground. The nurse puts her ear against Jackson's chest then looks up to Coach with a solemn expression. "He's not breathing," she says. "No pulse."

"Nothing?" Coach questions.

"Nothing."

Lydia begins to shake, still clutching tightly onto her sister's hand. Charlotte glances to her in concern. "Oh, my God, Lottie, there's blood," she points out, her voice trembling as she holds back a sob. The dark red substance coats his shirt. "There's blood!"

Tears well in her eyes as Charlotte watches her sibling sob uncontrollably at the sight of Jackson. Charlotte never thought a day would come where she would cry over Jackson Whittemore. She looks back down to his bare hands, and realises his lacrosse gloves are further down the field. Her eyes widen in alarm as she notices the fresh blood coating his fingers, exactly where the nails of the Kanima would grow. He did it to himself, she realises.

As Melissa begins CPR, she lifts her head and her eyes land on Lydia. "Get down here." When the girl doesn't move, frozen in shock, the woman firmly raises her voice. "Get down here and hold his head. Tilt it up." Tears run down her cheeks as Lydia drops down next to them, following the instructions.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Charlotte spots Scott join her side. "Look at his hands," she murmurs.

He nods. "I know."

Feeling another presence join them, she goes to greet Isaac. However, she trails off when they hear Noah Stilinski's panicked yells. "Where's Stiles? Where's my son? Where's Stiles?" Scott, Isaac, and Charlotte share a look as they watch the father desperately try to find his child. "Where's Stiles? Where the hell is my son?"

»»———-　　———-««

Standing out on the field with the Sheriff, Charlotte glances over to her sister standing with their mom who has driven over after getting a message about Jackson. Noah sighs. "I've got to meet with the medical examiner and try to figure out what happened with Jackson..."

Her brows raise. "What about Stiles?" she questions. "His Jeep's still in the parking lot."

"I've got an APB on him," the man replies. "But the Jeep..." He swallows thickly and shakes his head. "The hell, I don't know what that means. Um... Look, if he answers his phone, if he answers his emails, if you see him-"

Charlotte firmly nods. "I'll call you," she finishes. "I'll tell Scott and Isaac, too. If any of us see him, you're the first we'll call."

Returning her weak smile, he nods at her. "Thanks, kiddo. I'll see you later." Before he can go any further, she tightly hugs him. He sighs and pats her back. "We're gonna find him."

She closes her eyesand prays to whatever higher power there is that her best friend is okay. "Yeah,I know."

»»———-　　———-««

She stands before the sink in her bathroom, staring at the reflection of herself in the mirror. She scrutinises every inch of herself; her flushed cheeks, the dark circles under her eyes, the mascara streaked tears. Jackson's dead. Charlotte's chest begins to rise and fall faster as the realisation begins to set in. She places a hand over her heart and feels the strong thuds. Her eyes close as she mutters, "No, not again." Matt's dead. Blood pounds in her ears as she begins to hyperventilate, everything around her beginning to dive in and out of focus. Stiles is missing. Feeling a sudden wave of nausea overcome her, she stumbles back and slides down the wall onto the cold tiles. She doesn't feel the throbbing pain the action brings to her stomach. But even if she could, she doesn't care. Charlotte brings her knees up to her chest, watching her hands shake against her skin, the tips of her fingers tingling. Erica's gone. Her chest constricts, and suddenly breathing becomes impossible. She can't breathe.

She barely registers the knock at the door as she continues to gasp for air, tears uncontrollably streaming down her cheeks. Upon hearing no response, Natalie cautiously opens the door and she rushes inside the second her eyes land on her daughter cradles up in a ball on the floor. "Charlotte? Honey, it's Mom. I'm right here with you. It's just you and me here, okay? You're safe."

But the voice doesn't sound clear, as if she is listening to someone try to talk underwater. She feels something slip into her hand and she tries to look down, only to find her vision blurred by her tears. "M-Mom?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, I'm right here," the woman says softly.

Feeling the hand squeeze, she grips back even tighter. A shiver runs down her spine and the nausea settles back in. "I-I can't breathe," Charlotte says between her gasps.

Worriedly watching her daughter, Natalie nods, keeping their hands clasped together. "You're safe, Charlotte, nothing can hurt you. Can we go through step one?"

Focusing on the physical contact, Charlotte nods. The voice sounds clearer now. As she opens her eyes, she blinks, the weight of her eyelids heavy. She lifts her head up from her knees and tries to look around the room. "S-sink." Another gasp for air. "Y-y-you. Shower." She tries to inhale a deep breath only for it to get caught in her throat, resulting in a choked sob. "Tow-towel."

"That's it, one more."

"Mirror."

Natalie smiles. "Perfect. Step two? What can you touch?"

She zones in on the hand squeezing her own in a steady rhythm. "You." She stretches her other free hand out and blindly moves it around. "F-floor. Jeans. Towel."

"What can you smell?"

Charlotte's hand flies to her chest as she tries to inhale, and another sob wracks through her body. "Your p-perfume. Soap-soap. Candle."

"You're doing great, honey. Now, can you try and take a deep breath for me?"

She nods and brushes her tears away. She watches her mom gently smile at her in encouragement. Shakily exhaling, Charlotte repeats the process until she can hold her breath for a few seconds. After a few minutes of silence, she looks up as another tear falls onto the tiles. "I-I'm sorry," she whispers.

"No!" Natalie quickly denies. "Do not apologise," she scolds her lightly. Charlotte lurches forward and wraps her arms around the woman. Her mother frowns and rubs her hand in circles on the girl's back. "Let's get you some food, does that sound good?"

"Yeah, okay."

Having a panic attack is almost like drowning. Where you're just below the surface with nothing under you and no way to get up for air. You're stuck, fighting for your life. But you can't do anything about it. All you can do is wait. You have to wait for the feeling to subside. Then out of nowhere, you can push up off the sand to reach the surface. You can finally breathe again.

Taking pointed deep breaths, Charlotte unwraps the chocolate bar and watches her mother move through the kitchen with a purpose to make her tea. "Where's Lyds?" she asks in a croaked voice.

The oldest Martin glances over her shoulder as she fills the kettle up with water. "They found Stiles, she went over."

Charlotte swallows her mouthful and her eyes widen. "Wait, he's okay? When did they find him?"

Natalie smiles. "Half an hour ago, that's why I came up to find you." In a flurry, the girl pushes back her chair, and grabs her car keys, phone, and coat. Biting the last of her chocolate, she opens her mouth to say goodbye only to close it at the look her mother is giving her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To go see Stiles," Charlotte answers slowly. "I thought it was obvious..."

"Are you okay to drive? Do you want me to take you? Because I'm more than happy to, honey. I don't want you to get-"

She shoves her hands into the pockets of her coat. "Mom, I'm fine," she reassures her softly. "I just want to see him."

The woman hesitantly nods. "But you message me as soon as you get there, okay?"

"Promise."

»»———-　　———-««

Pulling up next to Stilinski's cop car, Charlotte frowns when she doesn't spot Lydia's car nearby. She must have just missed her. She quickly sends a message to her mom like promised, then takes a sip of the tea in her ceramic mug and leaves it in the cupholder before getting out the vehicle and walking as fast as her healing wound will let her up to the door. The second after she knocks, it opens and Noah smiles at her. "Is he okay?" she rushes out in worry.

"He's upstairs."

She nods and thunders up the staircase to reach the Stiles' bedroom, knocking once again. An irritated voice calls out, "Dad, I swear to God, you have to stop letting people in!" The handle twists and Stiles' eyes widen at the sight of his best friend. He doesn't get another word out before her body crashes into his and her arms grip onto him.

"I was so worried about you," she whispers. His heart drops when her voice cracks. "Are you okay? What happened?" As they leave the embrace, her eyes flick over his face and she freezes. Irritated scabs are forming on his skin, and dark, purple bruises line his lips and eyes. "Oh, my God, Stiles what happened?" she repeats in concern.

He looks down, avoiding her eye contact. "Gerard got me," he mutters.

Charlotte's lips purse into a thin line, a sudden wave of rage rushing over her at the older Argent's name. "What? Gerard?"

He sighs as she sits down beside him on the edge of his bed. "He kidnapped me," he says quietly. "Took me to some basement and beat me up."

The girl's jaw clenches. "Man, I want to kill this dude so fucking badly."

"Me too, more than you know." Stiles leans back and sighs again as his head hits the pillow.

"It wasn't your fault, you know that, right?" she tells him firmly.

"Yeah, I know," he says with a small nod. "I just... kinda feel helpless."

Charlotte shuffles down toward him with a smile. "Stiles Stilinski, you are not helpless. You are the least helpless person I know. Scott might be more helpless than you..." He chuckles at this. "Actually, majority of the time you're the one constantly saving our asses."

The corners of his lips twitch upward. "Not majority. All the time," he corrects.

"Yeah, all the time," Charlotte agrees. "Stiles, just because you don't have glowing eyes and supernatural strength, it doesn't make you useless."

He softly smiles at her. "Thanks, Lottie. Oh, and um... I think I pissed Lydia off. She left just before you got here."

Charlotte grimaces. "Jackson just died," she points out. "She's sensitive, give her some time and I'm sure she'll get over it."

"Jackson died," Stiles repeats slowly. "Why does it feel so anticlimactic?"

"I know, right? Something feels off..." Her phone buzzes and she hums. "There we go. Scooter! We were just talking about you."

"What?"

Pursing her lips, she places the call on speaker phone so Stiles isn't leaning over right next to her ear. "Never mind... Stiles is okay, I'm with him now," she tells their friend.

"She says Stiles is okay!"

The pair glance at one another in amusement. "Who are you yelling at?" Stiles questions.

"Isaac," Scott replies nonchalantly.

"Isaac?" Charlotte asks in surprise. "What are you doing with Isaac?"

The line pauses at her question, then Scott replies, "It's Jackson."

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, great, he's haunting us from the dead." Scott sighs, and Charlotte and Stiles hearing Melissa's laughter in the background. It quickly turns into a shriek. Her eyes widen as she raises her voice, "Scott, what's going on with Jackson?"

"He's alive. He's moving in the body bag... We're here with Mom at the hospit- Zip! Zip, Mom! Zip, zip!"

Stiles narrows his eyes at the phone. "Sorry, did you just say Jackson's alive? He's alive? As in he never actually died?"

"He looks alive. Very alive right now," Isaac confirms nervously.

Charlotte groans in frustration. "All right then, what's the plan?"

"Derek and Pe- Derek says that we need Lydia. That she can save him."

"What did you say?" she asks in confusion, not understanding why Scott had suddenly cut himself off. "Derek and who?" The line falls silent and she clears her throat expectantly. "Hello?" And when she glances at Stiles who anxiously fidgets, her eyes narrow a fraction. "What's going on?"

"Look, can you guys just meet us with Lydia? We'll send you the coordinates."

They both nod. "Yeah, okay," Stiles agrees. When the call hangs up, he refuses to make eye contact with the girl next to him.

She takes a deepbreath. "I would definitely talk about what that was, but we need to go save lives. See, this is what I'm talking about, dude! Let's go find the love of your life and fulfil our destinies."

»»———-　　———-««

It didn't take long to find Lydia Martin. She had been exactly where Charlotte had assumed she would be; the ice-cream parlour where she and Jackson had shared their first date. Stiles and Charlotte had filled the crying teenage girl in on what they had just learnt from Scott. And it was safe to say that for the first few minutes Lydia didn't believe a word that was coming out of their mouths. After all, Jackson had legally been declared dead on the lacrosse field. But after being reassured multiple times from her sister and the photo that Isaac had sent through to her, Lydia is finally on board with the plan. But that doesn't mean Charlotte is any less concerned about her. She looks back to the strawberry blonde in the back seat of the Jeep. "You sure you're okay to do this?" she questions softly.

Lydia firmly nods and plays with the ends of her cardigan. "Yeah," she says assertively. "I can save him."

The pair in the front share a smile at her sudden confidence. "Fuck yeah you can," Charlotte agrees. As the engine revs as the car picks up speed, she zooms in on the map pulled up on her phone then up to the road to see the street sign. "Left," she yells suddenly. "Stiles, left!"

The boy harshly jerks the wheel to the side and the car veers around the corner. He briefly glances to her with an exasperated face. "Little more notice would have been nice."

She rolls her eyes and a grin spreads onto her lips. Once the car slows down to a warehouse in front of them, the smile drops. Charlotte's eyes flick back down to her phone and she takes a deep breath. "This is it."

Lydia frowns as she leans in between the front seats. "Where are they?" she asks in confusion, not seeing any sign of life.

"Must be inside." Stiles purses his lips and turns to the blonde-haired girl beside him. "Okay," he begins slowly. "I've got an idea..."

"Yes. Do it, already on board."

As the tires of the Jeep screech against the concrete flooring, Charlotte realises that she probably- definitely, should've asked for more information. Lydia grips onto her sister's hand as Stiles presses his foot flat on the gas pedal, and both siblings' eyes widen in alarm as the car heads straight to the tin wall of the warehouse. And it doesn't look like they're going to be stopping anytime soon.

"Stiles?"

"Hang on!"

With a booming crash, the Jeep bursts through the panels of the walls and continues to drive further into the building. Charlotte's eyes squint, then when she spots a corner illuminated by the headlights, she points to the side. "There!" Turning the wheel towards the direction she had motioned to, they ram straight into the fully transformed Kanima. "Oh, my God!" she squeals in excitement. "That was awesome!"

Stiles breathes heavily and he opens one of his eyes to peek out the windshield. "Did I get him?" he asks hesitantly.

Charlotte's grin widens. "We got him!" She looks out her window to see Scott beside them and quietly laughing in disbelief, however, Lydia shriek draw her back to the front of the car where she finds the Kanima leaping up onto the bonnet. Staring straight at the driver, the creature bares its teeth and hisses. And as Stiles screams in absolute terror, Charlotte quickly scrambles outside, letting the boy and her sister out after her. "Go! Go, go, go!"

Whilst Stiles and Charlotte run over to join Scott, Lydia lingers behind and tries to call out to whatever is left of Jackson's humanity. "Jackson!" The Kanima raises its claws up, ready to attack, and her eyes shut as she shakes in fear.

"Lydia!"

Charlotte's hand snaps out in front of Stiles to stop him from going any further. "Wait," she whispers. The Kanima pauses with its claws next to Lydia's cheek and stares at the brass key held between her fingers. It tilts its head curiously. And everyone watches in awe as the creature loses some of its scales, Jackson Whittemore now stood before Lydia, half transformed as the Kanima. The yellow, reptilian eyes morph back into the boy's human ones and he gently takes the key out of her fingers. Feeling a presence beside her, Charlotte tilts her head slightly to see Allison. She gives the girl a small smile. "Hey," she murmurs.

The brunette's lips lift slightly. "Hey."

But then Jackson begins to step away from Lydia, and both twins appear to be just as confused as the other as they watch Derek stumble up off the ground with glowing ruby eyes. "Wait, what's going on?" Charlotte asks Allison in confusion.

With his human eyes, Jackson gives Lydia a look as he takes another step back away, one that could almost be identified as regret. Then, as he holds his arms out by his sides, his eyes lock onto Derek's and he gives the man a subtle nod. The group of teenagers watch on in horror and shock as Derek races forward and penetrates his claws deep within Jackson's torso. Another shadow darts out, however, he's hard to identify from his place as he strikes Jackson on his back.

In disbelief, Charlotte grabs onto Allison's hand as they watch as Jackson is lifted up into the air, coughing as he chokes upon his own blood. The two men suddenly drop him and Jackson stumbles backward, his knees threatening to give out. With a sob, Lydia darts forward and catches him just before he can hit the ground. With tearful eyes, Jackson looks up to the girl and manages to say, "Do you... Do you still..."

Lydia smiles through her own tears and nods. "I do," she answers. "I do still love you. I do, I do still love you. I do."

When the key in Jackson's grip clatters to the ground and his body falls in Lydia's arms, Charlotte softly sighs and looks away, refusing to let the tears drop from her watered eyes. Allison squeezes their hands tighter as the younger Martin sister sobs over the boy in her arms. As Lydia gently lays him onto the ground, the scales of the Kanima finally disappear and leave him to die as a human. Gently breaking her hand away from Allison, Charlotte kneels down beside her twin and lets the girl lean into her body as tears stream down her cheeks as she grieves over the first love of her life.

"Where's Gerard?" At Allison's question, Charlotte's brows draw together in confusion but her attention doesn't move away from her sister.

"He can't be far," Chris replies.

It's like a fucking party. Everyone's here. Rubbing Lydia's back, Charlotte helps her stand up then tightly embraces her into a hide. But everyone in the room, including the siblings, freeze when claws scratch against cement. Lydia sniffles and turns around in her sister's arms. Charlotte watches in bewilderment as Jackson's chest slowly starts to rise and fall, the fatal wounds on his chest beginning to heal. And when his eyes finally snap open, they aren't the usual yellow that everyone has grown accustomed too. They're a vivid blue, just like how Derek's used to be.

Glancing back to her best friends, Charlotte finds their expressions are mirroring her own. As Jackson slowly stands up, he roars, fully transformed into a werewolf. She feels Lydia slip out of their embrace and cautiously walk toward him before running forward and finally hugging him. A tear slips out of her eye as she watches them tightly clutch onto one another.

"He scratched my Jeep..."

Charlotte looks to the side to see Scott questionably looking at Stiles who wipes his nose. Then Scott turns to her and raises his brows. She scoffs. "I'm fine! Just pissed off that he's still alive."

Ten minutes later and after Scott and Allison fills her, Stiles and Lydia in on what had happened a few minutes prior to the Jeep literally crashing the party, Charlotte leans against a concrete pillar as she drifts off into thought. Allison walks toward her and she gives the blonde a smile when they lock eyes. "You okay?" she asks in concern.

"Never thought I'd watch Jackson die and come back to life twice in a single day." When Allison softly laughs, Charlotte raises her eyebrows. "Are you okay?"

The brunette sighs and closes her eyes. "I feel so fucking stupid," she mutters in frustration. "Gerard manipulated me so easily. I was so convinced that killing Derek was the right thing to do."

She sighs. "I mean, I don't really know what to say."

"Say it," Allison murmurs. Charlotte looks up to her in confusion. "Say I'm a bitch, that I'm a horrible person. I stabbed Isaac!" she exclaims. Her eyes water with tears and her voice drops back down to a soft whisper. "I was going to kill them just because an estranged family member told me to."

"Okay. Allison, you're a horrible person for stabbing Isaac." Allison looks down and Charlotte continues, "But I think that everyone's forgetting your mom just died." She places a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Gerard took that as an advantage and used your vulnerability for his own wishes and goals, to become a werewolf himself."

Allison covers her face with her hands. "All of this is my fault! I shouldn't have trusted him."

Charlotte nods. "Well, yeah you shouldn't have trusted him. And I don't think Isaac will forgive you any time soon." She reaches down and grabs onto the girl's hand. "But Alli, Gerard lost. We won."

A tear runs down Allison's cheek. "You don't hate me?" she questions quietly.

"Hate you? Fuck no. Maybe a little bit disappointed that you gave in so easily and didn't stand up for yourself, yes." Charlotte huffs a small laugh. "But I definitely don't hate you, come on." She laces their fingers together and holds their hands up. "Charlison forever."

Allison's brows furrow as she grins. "Charlison?" she repeats.

"If you don't like it, too bad. It's staying."

Their giggles fade off when another pair of footsteps stop before them. Derek narrows his eyes at the youngest Argent. She gulps. "I'll leave you guys alone," Allison says quickly. She gives Charlotte another small smile. "See you later."

Charlotte returns the smile and it stays on her face even as she looks up to the werewolf. "What's up?"

Derek sighs. "I guess I'm glad to see you're okay."

She snorts and lightly smacks his arm. "Oh, shut up. You're thrilled."

He rolls his eyes. "Am not."

"Are too."

"Not."

"Yes you are!"

"Fine, maybe a little."

Her eyes widen and she breaks into a wide grin. It seems as though Derek's trying to bite back his own. "Thanks for saving my life by the way," she adds in a slightly more serious tone.

The man nods. "No worries. Figured I owed it to you after fucking up so badly."

She chuckles. "No shit. But thanks anyways." Her smile falls as she recalls the moment when Jackson had died. "Who was the dude that was with you when you killed Jackson? I couldn't see him."

Derek's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and he nods back to Scott in conversation with Stiles. "They haven't told you?" he queries in confusion.

"Told me what?"

His head drops. "It shouldn't come from me."

Charlotte rolls her eyes in frustration. "Oh, bullshit. You've said something and now I want to know."

But before Derek can open his mouth, Scott jogs over and smiles at her. "Hey, you ready to get out of here?"

Her eyes narrow a fraction as she stares at him. Awfully convenient timing. But then she shakes her head and plasters a similar smile onto her face. "Yeah, let's go home."

»»———-　　———-««

Slamming the door closed, Charlotte grabs her backpack out of the Jeep whilst shielding her eyes from the sun. Stiles shuts the driver's door and calls out to Scott who's already walking onto the empty lacrosse field with his stick in hand. "So, you really think she's gonna come back to you?"

The boy looks back to his friends and nods. "Yeah, I know she is."

Charlotte shakes her head at his optimism. "I can't believe she broke up with you," she says in disbelief. She grabs the pair of lacrosse sticks Stiles hands to her and waits until he closes the boot of the car before handing one to him. "I mean, it was bound to happen eventually, but still. I can't believe it actually happened."

Scott rolls his eyes. "What about you and Lydia?" he asks Stiles.

"Ah... Well, the ten year plan for making her fall in love with me may have to stretch to fifteen, but the plan is definitely still in motion!" When the girl giggles, Stiles glares at her as he drops the bag of balls onto the grass. "Oi, shut up! Friends are meant to support each other!"

Once he's in position in the goal, Scott watches Charlotte drag her stick along the ground with a frown etched onto her face. "And you and Erica?"

She huffs a sigh. "Well, I mean they left. So we broke up. And I haven't heard from either her since the other day. Nothing from Boyd."

Stiles' brows furrow. "I'm sure they're just busy finding a new pack and getting settled in to wherever they are." She nods unconvincingly. But as they look back to Scott, the pair share a look as they hear him growl, "Um, Scott?" Stiles calls out.

The werewolf lifts his head up to reveal his golden eyes. "I said I would kill her if she broke your heart," he speaks lowly. "I'm keeping my promise."

Both Charlotte and Stiles' eyes widen in alarm. "No!" she shrieks.

"Not happening!" Stiles adds, just as firm as her.

"Scotty, it's fine," she reassures him. "It's what she wants, I have to support that." Once his eyes return to their usual brown, she sighs. "All right, enough relationship talk and let's help Stiles become team captain." She spins over to the boy with a grin. "Oh! You still owe me two-hundred bucks from a few weeks ago. You know, 'cause you decided to bet that I was wrong about Jackson being the Kanima?"

Stiles loudly groans. "Oh, my God, I completely forgot about that." His lips purse. "But I don't remember it being two-hundred... Wasn't it fifty? Distinctively remember fifty."

He throws a ball to her and Charlotte swiftly catches it in her net. "Nope," she denies.

Stiles turns to Scott, his eyes pleading. The werewolf chuckles. "I remember-two hundred."

"Yeah, it was definitely two. Because I remember saying that you don't have two-hundred then saying Scott does... Then you went 'No, I have two-hundred,' blah, blah, blah. So, technically, it's your own fault you owe me two-hundred instead of one."

Stiles stares at her with a deadpanned face then huffs a sigh in defeat. "Fine," he concludes. "Speaking about the Kanima, Charles, you knew about Scott and Gerard?" She nods and shares a smile with Scott.

Earlier on Saturday...

She chuckles. "You think? So do you want to explain what you were talking about?"

He grimaces and falls back onto the bed with a heavy sigh. He knows she won't leave until she finds out the truth. "Fine. Yeah, okay. Gerard, He takes these pills every now and then. Wolves can smell things. Emotions, pheromones."

Charlotte arches a brow. "And?"

"I smelt it on him the night he stabbed me." Scott clears his throat. "Charles, he's dying."

Her eyes widen in shock. "Fucking hell," she whispers.

"Look, he thinks I'm on his side. He wants me to-"

"He wants you to play double agent with Derek..." Charlotte shakes her head in disbelief. "Holy shit, Scott. He wants Derek to bite him." When the boy nods in confirmation, her eyes narrow. "Please tell me you're not actually going to let that happen?"

"Nope, that's exactly what we're going to do."

She stands up off the bed and waves her arms about. "Scott, what the actual fucking fuck? This is ludicrous!"

He chuckles at her bewilderment. "At the station, when you heard me talking to him, the container holding his pills dropped." Scott dips a hand into his pocket and pulls a small box out, holding it up for her to see. "These pills. And we're gonna swap them."

Mischief glints within her eyes as the grin spreads across her face. Charlotte nods in approval. "Hell yeah."

Stiles' eyes flick between both of his friends. "So you put mountain ash into the pills?"

Scott nods as he catches one of Charlotte's balls in his net. "Yeah. When Derek bit him..."

"Mountain ash," she continues. "It's a barrier against the supernatural. So because he had been ingesting it for a few weeks, his body rejected the bite."

Stiles' brows raise pointedly. "But Gerard isn't dead..."

"No. But he can't have gotten far from the warehouse," Scott says. "You should've seen him, he looked..."

"Deathly?" Charlotte suggests.

"Exactly." Scott smiles as he readjusts his position in the goal. "You know what I just realised? I'm right back where I started."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, no lacrosse. No popularity. No girlfriend. Nothing."

Stiles and Charlotte share a look with one another then turn back to Scott, offence all over their faces. "You have us!" the former exclaims.

"I've always had you guys," he reasons.

Charlotte chuckles. "Exactly. We aren't going anywhere. Always and forever."

The boys grin and cohesively repeat, "Always and forever."

"Okay! No wolf powers, remember?" Stiles says as he scoops up another ball. "This is going to be a fair game."

Scott nods. "Got it."

At his innocent expression, Charlotte scoffs. "Oh, come on, I don't need to have supernatural hearing to know you just lied."

Stiles points at the boy with narrowed eyes. "Yeah! No super fast reflexes, no super eyesight, no super hearing- none of that bullshit. Okay?"

"Okay." Scott moves his stance in the goal, missing the sly grins that Stiles and Charlotte share with one another. "Would you just take the shot already?" he asks impatiently.

Stiles nods and scoops up the ball into his lacrosse stick, Charlotte discreetly doing the same. And as the boy with the buzzcut launches the ball toward the goal, Scott swiftly catches it. "I said no wolf powers!" Stiles yells in frustration.

Using the moment of Scott's distraction to her advantage, Charlotte's grin widens as she steps forward and with all her strength she throws her own ball in his direction. Squinting her eyes, she waits for the ball to hit her target.

"Son of a bitch! That was my head!"

»»———-　　———-««

As she sits on the end of her bed, Charlotte stares at her charm bracelet and studies each charm attached to the links: Allison's arrow, and the star that she had recently added herself. It symbolises that she isn't alone. Even if you have to look closely, a single star is surrounded by thousands of others. "Want to add another one?" a voice calls out.

Her head snaps over to her door and she instantly smiles. "What are you thinking?"

Allison bites her lip and walks into the room. "Well, Dad's taking me to France for the break until school goes back. We just need to get away for a bit. Um, I was wondering..." She clears her throat. "Do you want to come? I promise he won't try to kill you, he actually really likes you! And it doesn't have to be for the whole time, you can leave whenever you want, but I thought it could be fun and we could-"

"Yes."

A smile etches onto her lips. "Really?"

Charlotte quickly nods and jumps up to hug the girl. "Yes! I'd love to. Of course I would!"

Giggling, the two girls rock side to side in a hug. "Oh, my God!" Allison squeals in excitement. "We're gonna have so much fun!"

"Are you sure you won't get sick of me?" Charlotte questions hesitantly. "It's four months..."

Allison rolls her eyes as they take a step back from each other and twirls the arrow on her friend's silver bracelet. "Je ne me lasserai jamais, jamais de toi. Charlotte Martin, je t'aime trop."

𝘞𝘏𝘖𝘖𝘖 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 2 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘦!! 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘺!

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦, 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘰𝘺𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘪 𝘴𝘰... 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯.